Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Thursday he will recuse himself from any investigations relating to President Donald Trump and his campaign aides' possible communication with Russia.
NEW: Sessions will recuse
Sessions' recusal comes one day after news broke that Sessions had met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign, despite telling a Senate committee during his attorney general confirmation hearings that he never met with any Russian officials.
Sessions denied those meetings under oath, leading Democrats to accuse Sessions of perjury.
BREAKING: Attorney General Jeff Sessions to hold news conference amid scrutiny over contacts with Russian ambassador.
Despite recusing himself from DOJ-related investigations into the Trump campaign's possible Russian contacts, Sessions denied he did anything wrong.
"I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign," Sessions said at a news conference. "And the idea that I was part of a 'continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government' is totally false."
AG Jeff Sessions: "I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign
More than 40 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle called on Sessions to recuse himself from any Justice Department-led investigations relating to Trump or his campaign aides' communication with Russia during the election.
"Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself to ensure public confidence in the Justice Department's investigation," Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said in a statement on Thursday.
Senator Collins' Statement on Attorney General Sessions' Communications with Russian Ambassador https://t.co/76bQTnq0Oi #mepolitics
But for more than 60 other Democrats, Sessions' recusal is not enough.
They've called on Sessions to resign his role as AG.
AG Sessions is not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country and must resign. https://t.co/5r8KpGQSRT
Trump, for his part, expressed "total" confidence in Sessions.
When asked whether Sessions should have to recuse himself, Trump told reporters, "I don't think so."
Updated pool report re Trump & Sessions: Q: "Did Sessions testify truthfully to the Senate?" POTUS: "I think he probably did.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.